Apr. 17, 2015

Science on Screen, From Old to New

Science has a long history in the cinema. This week, we learn just how long. Film scholar Oliver Gaycken reveals that the first science documentaries date back almost as far as the birth of cinema itself. Hit films like “Cheese Mites” and “The Birth of a Flower” showed early film buffs the microscopic life teeming in their food, and unveiled the mysteries of plant growth (using a powerful new technique called “speed magnification”—i.e., time-lapse). Together, these and other early reels helped shape the tradition of science documentary that continues today.

Plus, Ira speaks with the directors behind a new documentary which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. Uncertain weaves the tale of an invasive species into an intimate portrait of a tiny Texas town.

Cheese Mites (1903)

The Acrobatic Fly (1910)

Excerpts from The Birth of a Flower

Produced by Annie Minoff, SciArts Producer

Produced by Becky Fogel, Production Assistant

Guests

Oliver GayckenAuthor, Devices of Curiosity: Early Cinema and Popular ScienceAssociate Professor of Film StudiesUniversity of MarylandCollege Park, Maryland